December 2011 – Giving thanks can make you happier
The holiday season can bring pressures to give in the material sense that may be beyond your means. It can also bring up expectations that create disappointment if not met. Research by many leading psychologists, including Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, renowned for his work on positive psychology, proves that gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what a person receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, you acknowledge the goodness in your life. In the process, you usually recognize that the source of that goodness lies at least partially outside yourself. As a result, gratitude also helps you connect to something larger than yourself — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.
Gratitude is a way for you to appreciate what you have instead of reaching for something new in the hopes it will make you happier, or thinking you can’t feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps you refocus on what you have instead of what you lack. Here are some ways that you can begin to cultivate gratitude and, in the process, reap the reward of greater happiness.
Write a thank-you note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank-you letter expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person’s impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself.
Thank someone mentally. No time to write? It may help just to think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.
Count your blessings. Make it a habit to write down, or share with a loved one, thoughts about the gifts you’ve received each day. At the end of every day, take a few minutes to write about your blessings — reflecting on what went right or what you are grateful for. Aim for three good, joyful, happy moments for which you are grateful. This can be as simple as witnessing a beautiful sunset. As you write, think about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.
Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude.
Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as “peace”), it is also possible to focus on what you’re grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).
Adapted from: Harvard Medical School
November 2011 – Revised Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines
This year, the Public Health Agency of Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, published revised physical activity guidelines for various age groups. The new guidelines were developed following extensive research into the health benefits that can be expected from a minimum amount of weekly physical activity. The good news is that these new guidelines are easier to achieve that the previous recommendations by integrating even 10 minute bouts of activity into your day.
If you want to reduce the risk of developing health problems, these guidelines provide the minimum recommended dose of physical activity that you will need. If you want to loose weight or improve athletic performance, you will need to do more. A personal trainer or body coach can help you determine how much physical activity you need to meet your unique goals.
Click here for:
Guidelines for adults 18 – 64 years
Guidelines for adults 65 and older
October 2011 – Why is weight loss so hard?
The idea behind weight loss is simple–burn more calories than you eat! This can be accomplished by replacing a couple of sodas with water and adding 20 minutes of walking each day. Sounds simple…and it is. If it’s that simple, why can’t we do it? There are a number of factors that contribute to weight gain. But it’s not just about finding time to exercise or choosing the salad over the burger–it’s about genuine commitment to make healthy decisions every day….REGARDLESS of what’s happening in your life. If you’re not ready to make some changes, losing weight will be hard. Below are 10 things you’ll need to look at in order to shift the scale down permanently. A life coach can help you with some of the areas that you find the most challenging.
1. Your Attitude. If you’re motivated only by external factors to look a certain way, it will be hard to lose weight permanently. Why? Because, what happens if you don’t see results quickly enough? You give up. It takes time to lose weight–how will you motivate yourself? You will need to find more internal reasons to motivate yourself such as –having more energy, dealing with health problems or wanting to live longer to be around for your grand-kids.
2. Your Workouts. If you don’t workout consistently it’s hard to lose weight. Yes, it’s possible to lose weight through diet alone, but you’ll likely hit a plateau. It’s not about spending hours in the gym–it’s about finding something you like that you’ll continue with for the rest of your life. You have to be willing to be more active on a regular basis–not just for a week here and there. A Personal Trainer or body coach can give you some idea of where to start.
3. Your Eating. Changing the way you eat is another thing you’re going to have to do for long-lasting weight loss. You need to be willing to replace unhealthy foods with healthier choices–every single day. And to begin changing habits such as:
- Keeping a food journal – writing down EVERYTHING that you eat and drink
- Reading food labels & buying less processed foods
- Spending more time preparing meals
- Saying no to extra portions
- Making conscious choices about what you put in your mouth.
For permanent weight loss, you need to pay attention to what you eat and make good choices more often than not. Healthy eating never stops.
4. Your Lifestyle. If you want a healthy life, you have to be willing to change how you live. Some things you might need to change for a healthy life are:
- Daily Routines. You may need to get up earlier to prepare your lunch or do a workout; use your lunch hour for exercise or go for a walk after work instead of working late or watching TV.
- Limits. You might need to set new rules for yourself limiting the extra hours you spend at work, how much TV you watch or how long you sit at the computer. Pay attention to how you spend your time and find even short opportunities to add more movement.
- Your Pantry. Are you the kind of person who will eat an entire bag of cookies if it’s in the house? That means you will need to get rid of the unhealthy foods you can’t resist.
- Your Schedule. If you’re not willing to sit down and change the way you live each day to include exercise, time to prepare meals and time to nurture yourself with sleep, it will be hard to lose weight. People often use busy schedules as an excuse not to make healthy choices.
5. Your Surroundings. Sometimes you can’t control the things around you, like temptations at work. So, it helps to surround yourself with things at home that will support you in your efforts to get healthy. This might mean setting up an exercise space in the house or commandeering the TV a few nights a week to do an exercise video. Seeing a bowl of fresh fruit when you walk into the kitchen is often enough of a reminder to make more healthy choices through the day.
6. Your Support System. While getting healthy may be something you’re doing on your own, it’s a big help to have a support system. At the very least, family members who understand what you’re doing and are either willing to participate or help. Try to surround yourself with people who support what you’re doing and avoid those people who don’t. A workout buddy is also a great idea for support.
7. Your Spiritual and Mental Health. If you have emotional reasons for being overweight–past hurts that you’ve used food to deal with, depression or other problems, it’s hard to lose weight. Food can be a comfort and something we’ve relied on to help us deal with emotional problems. If that’s the case for you, identifying those behaviors and what drives them is important to become more aware of what you’re doing and why. A coach or counselor can help you with this, so can reading about emotional eating.
8. Your Goals. If you’ve set impossible goals, you are guaranteed to fail. Weight loss becomes hard to achieve if you feel like a constant failure. The key is to set reasonable goals based on your lifestyle, eating and exercise habits. Setting a reasonable long-term weight loss goal and breaking it into smaller chunks – like getting 3 cardio workouts a week – will be more achievable. Pick things that are a stretch and that you feel are do-able, so you’re successful.
9. Your Flexibility. What happens if you have to work late and you can’t get to the gym? Or what if you get stuck in traffic and miss your fitness class? Any number of things can happen in a day that may throw you off track. It helps if you’re always prepared–keep workout shoes in the car so you can stop off at the park for a quick walk. Keep healthy food handy so if you get stuck in traffic, you get a snack in before your workout. Often people skip workouts because something comes up and they simply aren’t ready for it or they aren’t willing to give themselves other options–can’t do 45 minutes? Why not just do 10? Something is always better than nothing.
10. Your Willingness to Fail. Striving for perfection will not keep you on track. Everyone – even perfectionists – has good days and bad days: it’s part of being human. The trick is to never give up, even when you mess up. You’re not a loser just because you make some mistakes…you’re simply a person trying his or her best to make good decisions
Adapted from: About.com
September 2011 – Are you ready for change?
Change is at the root of coaching whether it is introducing more productive and healthier ways of being in our current lives or deep transformative work that brings about radical development. The process of coaching holds the focus on the your goal, accelerating movement toward the goal, reinforcing awareness, insight, learning and change, and increasing self-empowerment – all with a focus on future results.
The Top Ten Benefits of Coaching are:
1. Maintain greater focus, clarity and sense of purpose.
2. Define personal and professional vision and map out a strategy.
3. Set motivational goals and become more efficient and effective.
4. Enhance conflict resolution and communication skills.
5. Create a better life – not just a better lifestyle.
6. Balance professional life with personal values.
7. Develop and maintain momentum in career and in life.
8. Accountability.
9. Work and live smarter, not harder.
10. Eliminate limiting beliefs and gain new perspectives.
Comprehensive coaching integrates body, mind, body, emotions, and purpose to empower the whole person and enable full engagement in work and life. If you’re ready for change, maybe you’re ready for coaching.
August 2011 – The Paradox of Letting Go
“When you let go of what you are, you become what you might be.”
Tao Te Ching
July 2011 – It’s no stretch — Yoga may benefit heart disease
The word “yoga” comes from a Sanskrit term that means union. It aims to join body, mind, and the day-to-day challenges of life into a unified experience rather than keep them separate. There are different forms of yoga, from the peaceful hatha yoga to the dynamic ashtanga. The focus here is on hatha yoga because it is the foundation for all forms of yoga.
Hatha yoga’s path to balancing the mind and the body involves three interconnected threads: physical postures, controlled breathing, and calming the mind through relaxation and meditation. The three work together.
How could this improve cardiovascular health? Getting into the various postures during a yoga session exercises the muscles. Anything that works your muscles is good for your heart and blood vessels. Activity also helps muscles become more sensitive to insulin, which is important for controlling blood sugar.
The deep-breathing exercises help slow the breathing rate. Taking fewer, deeper breaths each minute temporarily lowers blood pressure and calms the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for generating stress hormones. The postures and deep breathing offer a kind of physical meditation that focuses and clears the mind. Meditation and the mindfulness of yoga have both been shown to help people with cardiovascular disease.
While research into the connection between yoga and cardiovascular disease is still in its infancy, the current body of work suggests that yoga may:
* reduce high blood pressure
* improve symptoms of heart failure
* ease palpitations
* enhance cardiac rehabilitation
* lower cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol levels, blood sugar, and stress hormones
* improve balance, reduce falls, ease arthritis, and improve breathing for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Beginning yoga can be easy and welcoming when you choose a class that meets your needs. Attending a general yoga class populated by fit 30-somethings who expect a good workout can be a disheartening introduction. If you are a few gray hairs beyond 30, look for a yoga class that includes the full scope of poses, breathing, and meditation, such as Kripalu yoga, rather than one that offers just exercise with a yoga twist to it.
People with heart disease often have other health concerns, like arthritis or osteoporosis, that limit their flexibility. A good yoga instructor creates a safe environment for her students and will be able to modify poses to meet each person’s unique abilities.
Adapted from: Harvard Health Beat May 2011
June 2011 – Take the Sting out of 10 Common Stressors
Sometimes just thinking about embarking on a program of stress control can be stressful. Rather than freeze in your tracks, start small and bask in the glow of your successes. Give yourself a week to focus on practical solutions that could help you cope with just one stumbling block or source of stress in your life. Pick a problem, and see if these suggestions work for you.
1. Frequently late? Apply time management principles. Consider your priorities (be sure to include time for yourself) and delegate or discard unnecessary tasks. Map out your day, segment by segment, setting aside time for different tasks, such as email or phone calls. If you are overly optimistic about travel time, consistently give yourself an extra 15 minutes or more to get to your destinations. If lateness stems from dragging your heels, consider the underlying issue. Are you anxious about what will happen after you get to work or to a social event, for example? Or maybe you’re trying to jam too many tasks into too little time.
2. Often angry or irritated? Consider the weight of cognitive distortions. Are you magnifying a problem, leaping to conclusions, or applying emotional reasoning? Take the time to stop, breathe, reflect, and consciously choose.
3. Unsure of your ability to do something? Don’t try to go it alone. If the problem is work, talk to a co-worker or supportive boss. Ask a knowledgeable friend or call the local library or an organization that can supply the information you need. Write down other ways that you might get the answers or skills you need. Turn to CDs, books, or classes, for example, if you need a little tutoring. This works equally well when you’re learning relaxation response techniques, too!
4. Overextended? Clear the deck of at least one time-consuming household task by hiring help. If you can, hire a housecleaning service, shop for groceries through the Internet, convene a family meeting to consider who can take on certain jobs, or barter with or pay teens for work around the house and yard. Consider what is truly essential and important to you and what might take a backseat right now.
5. Not enough time for stress relief? Try mini-relaxations. Or make a commitment to yourself to pare down your schedule for just one week so you can practice evoking the relaxation response every day with mindful breathing, yoga or meditation. Slowing down to pay attention to just one task or pleasure at hand is an excellent method of stress relief.
6. Feeling tense? Try massage, a hot bath, mini-relaxations, a body scan, or a mindful walk. Practically any exercise — a brisk walk, a quick run, a sprint up and down the stairs — will help, too. Done regularly, exercise wards off tension.
7. Frequently feel pessimistic? Remind yourself of the value of learned optimism: a more joyful life and, quite possibly, better health. Practice deflating cognitive distortions. Rent funny movies and read amusing books. Create a mental list of reasons you have to feel grateful. If the list seems too short, consider beefing up your social network and adding creative, productive, and leisure pursuits to your life.
8. Upset by conflicts with others? State your needs or distress directly, avoiding “you always” or “you never” zingers. Say, “I feel _____ when you _____.” “I would really appreciate it if you could _____.” “I need some help setting priorities. What needs to be done first and what should I tackle later?” If conflicts are a significant source of distress for you, consider taking a class on assertiveness training.
9. Worn out or burned out? Focus on self-nurturing. Carve out time to practice relaxation techniques or at least indulge in mini-relaxations. Care for your body by eating good, healthy food, integrating physical activity into your life, and for your heart by seeking out others. Give thought to creative, productive, and leisure activities. Consider your priorities in life: is it worth feeling this way, or is another path open to you? If you want help, consider what kind would be best. Do you want a particular task at work to be taken off your hands? Do you want to do it at a later date? Do you need someone with particular expertise to assist you?
10. Feeling lonely? Connect with others. Even little connections — a brief conversation in line at the grocery store, an exchange about local goings-on with a neighbour, a question for a colleague — can help melt the ice within you. It may embolden you, too, to seek more opportunities to connect. Be a volunteer. Attend religious or community functions. Suggest coffee with an acquaintance. Call a friend or relative you miss. Take an interesting class. If a social phobia, low self-esteem, or depression is dampening your desire to reach out, seek help. The world is a kinder, more wondrous place when you share its pleasures and burdens.
Ref: Harvard Medical School Health Beat, May 2011
May 2011 – Staying Strong, Part 2: You are what you Eat
Following up on last month’s tip, researchers are also finding that how much and what kind of protein we eat may also matter in maintaining strong muscles as we age.
Eating the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein – 0.36 grams a day for every pound you weight, or 55 grams if you weight 150 pounds – will keep you healthy, but it may not be enough to stop you from losing muscle as you get older, even if you’re doing strength training. To maintain or gain muscle, you may need 25% to 50% more protein than the RDA. To reach that much, aim for an amount of protein in grams that is equal to half your weight in pounds – 75 grams if you weight 150 pounds. For best results include lean, high quality protein in every meal as well as snacks. You can also check out the March 2010 and August 2007 tips for more on nutrition.
Reference: Nutrition Action Health Letter, April 2011
April 2011 – Staying Strong, Part 1: Use it or Lose it
Scientists aren’t sure what causes sarcopenia – muscle loss with aging. Throughout our lives, our bodies are continually breaking down, repairing, and then building the proteins that make up our muscles. But at some point, we start to break down more protein that we build. The best way to restore the balance is strength training. There’s nothing like it if you want to build muscle or reduce muscle loss. Exercise experts recommend that all healthy adults do 8 to 10 strength training exercises at least twice a week that incorporate all six of the muscle groups – legs, chest, back, abdominals, arms and shoulders. Your personal trainer or body coach can design a program specifically to meet your unique needs.
Check out these previous monthly tips for more information on strength training:
* March 2011
* April 2010
* December 2007
* September 2006
* May 2006
Reference: Nutrition Action Health Letter, April 2011
March 2011 – The Benefits of Gravity
What counts as weight-bearing exercise, the kind recommended to help keep bones strong? It’s any sustained activity you do against the force of gravity, which is essential for maintaining bone mineral density. When bones are put under strain, this triggers specialized cells to build bone. The more load on the bone, the greater the benefit. Thus, high-impact or resistance workouts build more bone. Here are how activities stack up:
* Best for bones = weight-bearing, high-impact & resistance activities, like:
Running, jumping rope, high-impact aerobics, basketball, baseball, skiing, skating, stair climbing, hiking, and weight lifting.
* Also good for bones, but less so = weight-bearing & low-impact activities, like:
Walking, low-impact aerobics, most cardio machines like, stair-climbers, elliptical trainers & treadmill walking.
* Least beneficial for bones = non-weight-bearing & non-impact activities, like:
swimming, cycling, yoga, pilates (although these are good for overall health & fitness and can protect the bones if done strenuously).
To benefit your bones even more, divide up your exercise; short bouts (15 – 20 minutes) of high-intensity weight bearing exercise, like intervals (see Tip of the month for February, 2007) separated by at least 8 hours, are more effective for building bone strength than one long session. Also, try to vary your weight-bearing activities to stimulate your body in different ways.
Adapted from: University of California, Berkley, Wellness Letter
February 2011 – Shaking the Salt Habit
The risks of eating too much salt are well documented and include high blood pressure which can lead to heart disease and stroke, to name a couple of health problems. Health Canada recommends that we consume no more than 1500 — 2300 milligrams of sodium a day, or basically 1 teaspoon — including all of the salt that is already in prepared foods. Here are some easy to do ways you can reduced your salt intake:
* Read labels when shopping and choose low sodium or salt-free alternatives in pre-packaged foods.
* Keep snacks of fresh fruit, dried fruit or unsalted nuts at home and in the office.
* Limit takeaways and fast foods such as burgers, fried chicken and pizza to an occasional treat.
* Ask for fries, subs and other fast foods with no salt.
* When ordering pizza, choose a vegetarian or chicken topping rather than pepperoni, bacon or extra cheese.
* When dining out, ask for sauces and other condiments to be served on the side rather than on the meal.
* Avoid ordering dishes that contain high salt ingredients such as Asian sauces, cured meats and cheeses.
* Don’t add salt to your food at the table when dining out or eating at home.
* Stock up on low sodium or salt-free condiments, sauces and spreads.
* Replace salt in your cooking with herbs and spices.
January, 2011 – Get Happier this year
Here are five things science tells us we can do today to get happier every day:
1. Say something nice to your partner or family member - Research shows that when the ratio of unkind to kind remarks exceeds 4:1, relationships begin to erode.
2. Eat a plant-based breakfast - A meaty, saturated fat breakfast will inhibit blood circulation to the brain and muscles, sapping both energy and mental sharpness for hours.
3. Move before noon - Just 20 minutes of physical activity–even a walk!–will boost your well-being for 12 hours. Get your workout in before lunch to reap a full day of happiness benefits.
4. Socialize six hours - Results from more than a million Healthways-Gallup survey respondents show that America’s happiest people socialize six hours a day. Eat lunch with a friend, organize a happy hour, host a dinner party, join a club.
5. Sleep between 7 and 8 hours tonight - If you’re sleeping less than six hours, you’re likely to be as much as 30% less happy that sleeping a full night. 7.5-8.5 hours is optimal for most people.
Ref: Bluezones.com
Have a Happy 2011
Empowering the Whole Person